


there's humanity in this

by medeas



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Runaways (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, but soft, really soft, takes place during vol 1 right after the cloak and dagger incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 10:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/medeas/pseuds/medeas
Summary: Nico hurts her ankle. Karolina is there, as she always is.
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 10
Kudos: 75





	there's humanity in this

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was commissioned by the wonderful wombatking on Tumblr! It was so lovely being able to write out their idea. I love Karolina and Nico so much and I hope that this fic lives up to their expectations! <3 This was the commission request: 
> 
> "Nico hurts her ankle during one of the team's escapes, and although she tries to hide how bad it is, Karolina takes one look at her foot and insists on taking her to Night Nurse to get it x-rayed. Turns out it's fractured, and Nico gets a cast and crutches for a month. While Nico's benched from crimefighting and stuck at base, it's up to Karolina to cheer her up."

It doesn’t hurt too badly. This is what Nico tells herself. 

It’s a mantra she has repeated throughout her entire life and one that has been echoing in her brain more frequently since her parents turned her world upside down. Her staff can be absorbed cleanly, but a broken heart is the messiest thing Nico has ever dealt with. 

The pain running up and down her ankle is nothing compared to when she realized her parents were the type of villains she had grown up seeing on the News. So Nico keeps running. 

“Are you limping?” A voice grazes her ear. Nico looks up to see Karolina flying slowly beside her. _Of course_ she has noticed, the girl who flies above every bad thing and emits the brightest light that Nico has ever seen. 

“No,” Nico bites out. She makes a conscious effort to appear normal, but normalcy has never been her strong suit. She bites back a hiss as she continues to run, Karolina floating almost effortlessly alongside her. Her presence only makes everything more difficult, condensed into a narrow vision of beautiful smiles and the scent of strawberries. Nico pushes this thought aside, preferring to focus on the pain of her ankle rather than any complicated feelings she may possess.

“You are,” Karolina says. Her voice is soft because of course it is. Nico finds herself wanting to rip the softness out of her. She hates herself immediately for even having such a horrid thought.

The rest of the team have surpassed them now, but Nico still spits out a quick “I’m fine.” Karolina remains unphased. If Nico had not seen her break before, she’d think her friend untouchable. 

“Here,” Karolina says, and Nico feels hands settle themselves underneath her shoulders. 

Nico sighs. “I don’t need you to carry me.” The fight has mostly abandoned her at this point, the feeling of Karolina’s hands on her body eclipsing anything else. 

“You need to go to the Night Nurse,” Karolina explains. She does not grab Nico properly, not yet. Nico realises that she is waiting for permission. Even now, when Nico is injured, Karolina refuses to overstep. Nico isn’t sure if she loves or hates her for this misplaced kindness. 

The two girls remain in limbo for a moment. To Nico, it feels like an eternity. She spends only a second weighing the pros and cons of seeking medical attention before her mind short-circuits to a chorus of _KarolinaKarolinaKarolina_. It should be a welcome distraction from the pain but instead it is irritating.

Nico wishes that she looked at Alex the same way she does at Karolina. Everything would be easier if she did. Alex likes her, she knows that he does, and he’s nice. That’s the problem, though. Alex is nice. Karolina is that and everything else, even if it hurts. The most difficult things always tend to. 

“Hey,” a voice rings out, jolting Nico to attention. “What’s the hold-up?” Both Nico and Karolina look forward to see a figure resembling Chase. He’s a fair distance away, but he’s always been able to yell the loudest. 

“I’m taking Nico to the Night Nurse,” Karolina yells back. Then to Nico she whispers, “don’t argue. Please.” Even when she’s being firm she’s still soft. 

“Copy that,” Chase replies before running back towards the rest of the team. It’s Karolina, so naturally he doesn’t push it. For some reason this does not bother Nico. Maybe it’s hypocritical of her to think this, but she has always known that Karolina and Chase will never work out together.

“Ready?” Karolina questions, tightening her grip on Nico as she does so. Nico shudders. She finds that the pain in her ankle has dulled. 

“Yes.” 

\--

“Are you okay?” Molly shrieks as soon as Nico hobbles into the hostel. Karolina walks slowly beside her, something solid to lean on. 

“I’m fine,” Nico says at the same time Karolina explains, “her ankle is fractured.” 

“You need crutches?” Chase asks, eyeing Nico’s ankle with a look of concentration. Nico does not find this look of concentration to be as unnatural on Chase and she would have expected months prior. She still snorts at Chase’s question though, as does Alex. It’s ridiculous, a welcome distraction. 

“Obviously.” 

Gert comes up beside her, hovering behind Karolina. “Why didn’t you use your staff to fix it?”

“Remember last week?” Nico asks. She can pinpoint the exact moment when it all comes back to Gert; the way she had twisted her ankle and Nico, panicked, used the staff to heal the younger girl. It is clear that Gert now feels guilty, yet she attempts to hide it. 

“She’ll need to rest here for a little while,” Karolina says. Her hand brushes against Nico’s shoulder and Nico nearly drops her crutches. She is so focused on this small touch and what it means that it takes a second for her to fully comprehend what Karolina is saying. 

“What?” She spins towards Karolina with such an intensity that she nearly topples over. Karolina is there to steady her. Of course she is. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need to sit out.” 

“You’re on crutches,” Alex points out. Nico knows that he is trying to be helpful but his words are anything but. “Sit out for the next month. We’ll be fine.” 

“We always are,” Molly chimes in, her tone laced with a type of positivity that only she can possess. 

It is not until Nico spares a glance at Karolina that she finally gives in. Karolina is silent. She is not pushing Nico like the others are. Her team has her best interests at heart; Nico knows this. But Karolina trusting her, allowing her to make her own decision, means everything. 

“Fine. I’ll take it easy.” 

\--

As it turns out, taking it easy is harder than it seems. 

A ball of frustration settles itself inside Nico everytime her team goes out to train or fight with petty criminals. She should be out there with them, not stuck at base akin to a caged animal. Even Old Lace has been going outside and running around. 

It’s a deadly sin and Nico would rather die than be anything like her parents, but she cannot help but feel a sting of envy. 

“Hey,” Karolina greets a few days later as Nico is sitting on an old chair. Karolina is meant to be outside learning some new fighting technique that Alex swears the Avengers have used. Nico has a prediction that Alex merely picked it up from his video games. 

Instead, “you’re here.”

Karolina shrugs, her action graceful as always. Even before she had properly learned to fly she’d done it as though she were born to do it. Nico supposes that she was, supposes that Karolina was born to attract everything beautiful in the world, flying or otherwise. “I’m not much use right now,” she tells Nico. It is clear that she’s lying. Someone with as much power as she has is never not useful. 

“Liar.” Nico has never been good at hiding what she really feels. It’s beginning to become a problem, especially when Karolina looks the way that she does. Like the sun has exploded and left behind a kaleidoscopic rainbow in its wake. Karolina has never looked more like an alien to Nico than she does now. Not because she is out of place, but because she is the most gorgeous thing Nico has ever seen. It’s almost disturbing, the way Nico’s heart skips a beat. The way Karolina makes her feel is alien as well. She has never known intensity such as this. Nico wants it to both swallow her whole and spit her out.

“I figured that you could use some company.” Karolina speaks as though Nico is not completely falling apart. It’s difficult to think that she hasn’t noticed the way Nico’s entire body softens when she’s around, like it knows Karolina will always be there, the unyielding presence that she is. 

Nico shifts slightly, moving closer to Karolina. It’s an act that’s almost subconscious. Nico doesn’t think about it. Until she does. “I’m-”

Karolina cuts her off. “Fine? You’ve sort of said that before.” A pause. “A lot.” 

Nico bites her lip. “Sorry.”

“Stop it.” Karolina knocks her shoulder against Nico’s. “Seriously. I _want_ to be here.”

“Alex’s video game moves aren’t entertaining enough for you?” 

Karolina snorts. “I’ve never understood the appeal.” 

“In video games?” Nico asks. Karolina sits on the floor, facing Nico proper. It’s a sign of permanence. She is dedicated to this conversation now. To Nico.

“Yeah.” She shakes her head, blonde hair flowing freely like a curtain. It shouldn’t be as mesmerizing as it is. 

“I don’t know,” Nico admits. “They’re fun, I guess.” 

Karolina smiles. “So is cooking.” 

“Video games don’t require moving to be fun.” 

“True,” Karolina grants. She smiles again, showing her teeth. Nico wants to look away. She finds that she cannot. 

“You can also be someone else.” Nico’s voice shakes slightly. The energy in the room seems different now, more electric. 

“Hm?”

“When you play video games, I mean.” Nico moves to pick at her nail, her nervous habit, before realizing that she does not have her black nail polish. She hasn’t for a while, now. It’s odd how that happens. When she’s with Karolina she tends to forget just how unfortunate her life has been. 

Karolina hums again as she gathers her hair into a quick bun. “That makes sense,” she says while she fastens her hair atop her head. “But.” 

“But?” Nico furrows her eyebrows. 

Karolina suddenly appears nervous. Her cheeks are dusted with pink. It’s an action so human that Nico wants to cry. “You’re here,” she says as though this explains everything. Perhaps it does.

“So are you,” Nico replies because she doesn't know what else to say. She has nothing else to offer but this declaration of fact. 

“Right,” Karolina nods. “So… so why would I want to be someone else?” 

Nico feels a shock, as though all of the electricity in the room has culminated into this single moment. She doesn’t know what to do with this, all of this feeling. She wants to scream. She cannot open her mouth.

“Sorry,” Karolina says. Her voice comes out hastily and Nico can feel her beginning to shut down. “I-”

“No,” Nico lets out. She finds that she is nearly whispering, so she raises her voice. “No.”

Karolina waves a hand. She moves to stand up. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m sorry for- for making you uncomfortable.” 

Nico sighs. “Karolina.” 

“I’ll go,” Karolina declares, standing now. Nico shakes her head. 

“I don’t want you to.” She attempts to stand, to mirror Karolina. As soon as Karolina catches wind of what Nico is trying to do she springs into action, lightly shoving Nico backwards towards the chair. A cloud of dust shoots up as Nico is forced back down.

“Please don’t hurt yourself again.” Karolina’s voice is strained. This upsets Nico more than her ankle, more than anything else right now. “I would never forgive myself if you did.” This last part is said more softly than the rest, but Nico hears perfectly. 

“It wouldn’t be your fault,” she says. “You’re not in charge of me.”

“No,” Karolina agrees. “I just care about you. A lot.” She sits back down. The two girls are mirrored once more. 

“Sometimes I wish that I hated you,” Nico confesses. 

Karolina takes this in stride. “Oh.” 

“I’m just.” Nico sighs once more, unable to articulate the storm of emotions that reside within her. “I’m really bad at hiding what I feel. But I’m bad at saying it out loud, too. When it really matters, at least.” 

“Oh,” Karolina says again. 

“There’s a lot going on up here.” Nico gestures to her head as she speaks. “It’s… it’s all tangled and complicated. I care about you too. That’s what it boils down to.” 

It’s the most honest thing that Nico has ever said. 

Karolina nods. She is strangely good at hiding what she is really thinking. But then she asks, “can I kiss you?” and, well. Nico thinks that this is the most honest thing Karolina has ever said, as well. It’s emotion stripped raw.

Karolina is supposed to be this alien from outer space, a being different from anything they have ever known. 

When she leans in towards Nico, allowing their lips to softly meet, it is so wonderfully human.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you enjoyed this fic at all! 
> 
> If you would like to commission a piece of writing from me, please leave a comment saying so or DM me on Tumblr! My URL is maryjanewaston. :)


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